Three Tricks to Overcome Children's Dislike of Vegetables

The “vegetable dislike” that children always face in the process of growing up often recovers naturally as they grow up, but it is said that the number of adult that dislikes vegetables is increasing recently. Some people dislike vegetables in general even if they dislike vegetables after just a bite, and some people are not good at only raw vegetables because they dislike green odors. Adults who dislike vegetables in general basically dislike vegetables since childhood.Why do Kids Hate Vegetables?Do you know why small children often hate vegetables in the first place? Children's dislike of vegetables is mainly related to taste, and the tastes are basically classified into five tastes, "sweet, salty, sour, and umami," which are called the basic five tastes. When I was a kid, I tended to like the sweetness, saltiness, and umami, and while I became more and more fond of sweets and processed products that contained these three flavors, I gradually rejected bitter and sour. In addition, there are many reasons why people dislike vegetables because they don't like the smell, bitterness, texture, and green odor, and sometimes they dislike the appearance.What to do when Kids don't Eat VegetablesSo how should we actually deal with it? Anyway, the important thing is how to give the ingredients a sense of familiarity. It's fun so that the meal time doesn't become painful! It is to make your kids think. The image is not to overcome what you are not good at, but rather to increase what the kids like. Don't let moms think too much about "not eating" or "what to do".As a step,

1. Try different ideas for cooking・ Make the presentation and the appearance of the bowl more cute than usual to make your kids feel better・ Smell the freshly made scent・ Try to make the texture and seasoning a little different from usualA little ingenuity such as this may trigger the child to press the eating switch. Small children feel their meals using all five senses, such as "look," "smell," "shape," and "color," as well as the taste itself, so please try various approaches. Serve vegetable dishes on a plate with your child's favorite characters on it. By the time they finish eating the food, the character at the bottom of the plate will appear, and they may not be concerned about the vegetables they don't like because of the excitement of the appearance.
2. Watch over your children's eating a bite without rushing and see their reactionsOne of the important things is that parents do not try too hard, saying, "I want to get rid of your dislike of vegetables now." Be aware that if you force them to eat, your kids may become traumatized and they may not be able to eat more. Let's work on it with the feeling that "it's okay to spit it out at this time!" And when they take a bite, please give a lot of compliments such as "I'm glad you ate the vegetables!" And "You did your best! Great!"
3. It is important not to erase the existence of the ingredients, but to face themIf your kids are not good with certain vegetables, what makes moms want to do it is to hide their existence in small pieces or mix them with their favorite vegetables and feed them. Of course, it is effective in some cases. However, the fact that it is all about it is irrelevant to whether or not the child is able to face the ingredients that he or she does not like and know their existence before eating.In order to make the ingredients truly edible, it is important not to erase their existence too much. I'll show you the shape of the vegetables before they're cut, let them know what kind of vegetables they have today, and then let them eat, or show moms and dads eating very deliciously. Let's make sure that your child is ready to face the ingredients.

So, how was it? It is also necessary to convey to children the importance of eating vegetables because it is good for the body, but since it is important for children to have fun, we prioritize creating an atmosphere where children can enjoy eating vegetables that they don't like, and watch over without rushing. In early childhood, support your child's healthy growth by devising ways to eat vegetables as deliciously as possible and by incorporating efforts to foster a curiosity about food.